As development in senior living remains limited due to capital constraints, those seeking growth in the space must continue to be “bold and innovative” in charting a course forward.

That’s according to the 2025 edition of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate report by PwC and the Urban Land Institute. 

With low supply of new units coming online and increasing, demographic-driven demand for senior living, this primes the senior living sector that is “ripe for innovation and strategic positioning for the next chapter” of development, the report states.

To achieve growth, senior living operators in recent years have pivoted their operating models to cater more to the needs of younger older adults, seeking to attract members of the baby boomer cohort that is at the industry’s doorstep.

While the baby boomer generation cohort has a large portion of individuals with the financial means to pay for senior living, many of them do not, requiring senior living operators to grapple with affordability of the services they provide.

By 2033, these middle-income seniors will make up a projected 44 percent of all older adult U.S. households, the report notes.

“This period of subdued development activity is the ideal time to think about what successful senior housing projects can look like in the years ahead. The future cannot be a carbon copy of the past. Although scaling up successful existing models remains a viable option, the current environment presents opportunities to develop senior housing that better aligns with consumer preferences and capitalizes on real estate market trends,” the report’s authors wrote.

Repositionings, acquisitions of distressed assets and adaptive reuse could help bring middle-market solutions to bear, and the report highlighted various projects highlighting redevelopment efforts.

The report tracked Integrated Development’s plans to redevelop two former shopping malls into senior living units, as previously followed by SHN in 2023. Others included the redevelopment of the Irondequoit Mall property for affordable senior housing.

Two other projects were highlighted in the report, including Alijoya Thornton Place in Washington state to add 143-units of independent living and assisted living at a former mall satellite parking lot. Lastly, the report tracked the conversion of an aging mall property to mixed use at Folkestone at the Promenade in Minnesota—showing the alternatives possible rather than typical, ground-up development.

“These projects highlight a growing trend of redeveloping retail spaces into mixed-used developments that include age-restricted housing, addressing both the demand for senior living options and the need to revitalize vacant mall properties,” the report read. “These projects also have the potential to align well with the expectations of baby boomers and provide integrated access to amenities and services as part of an overall redevelopment plan.”

The growth of niche, affinity-based communities is also increasing, including existing development by Latitude Margaritaville, Storyliving by Disney’s active adult plans and existing development of communities geared for LGBTQ+ individuals or communities that cater to a cultural or ethnic focus.

For example, Connie House and Living Out Palm Springs in California have opened in recent years to success in attracting LGBTQ older adults to their communities, whereas Priya Living has expanded its development pipeline to spur growth in India, while catering to Indian communities in the U.S.

The report also highlighted the growth of the active adult sector in recent years, seen as a way for operators and developers to reduce costs of traditional senior housing and offers a lifestyle-based offering that caters to more active, independent older adults at a price point “roughly 40% lower than the average independent living” unit rental.

Three noncore real estate subsectors rated higher than the industrial core sector including senior living, neighborhood and community shopping centers and manufacturing.